For people like me, who lack co-ordination and are terrified of being hit in the face by a baseball, track and field and cross-country were the only two sports I ever really loved and succeeded at in high school. All you need is a pair of shoes and the streets become your gym.

I’ve been reading about a new trend in running, doing it “naked.” That means ditching your headphones and smartphones to run without distraction. I used to think I was pretty good at that. I hated listening to music, didn’t count my kilometres and was too self-conscious to wear Lululemon clothing. But I’ve become a sucker for all the hype. I signed up for the Graffiti Run. I got a GPS watch for Christmas and now strap it on religiously. And I like listening to podcasts on long runs, even stopping once to answer a call.

I am officially a distracted runner, something I only really clued into this week. I was so busy splitting my attention between my brain chatter and my podcast that I wasn’t absorbing either. There was too much noise and too much to process at the same time. It was no better than when I sit in front of my computer and flit between 15 tabs at once.

Running has always been a way for me to clear my mind, sort out my day, process my thoughts and ideas and get organized and set-up for whatever else awaits me. It offers peace, solitude and time to think. But that’s impossible when there are so many mechanical distractions.

So I’m thinking about turning it all off for a week. Maybe it’s time to unplug the radio, leave my GPS at home and get back to basics. Let’s see if all this “naked” running is really as liberating as everyone says it is. Let’s see if I can just be with myself for 10 km.

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